Spicy HsinChu rice noodles with dumplings | 健康版辣椒新竹米粉

Hsinchu rice noodles are thin, long thread-like noodles, made from Taiwan ground rice. It is similar to Thai noodles but slightly smooth and chewy texture. For this rice noodles recipe, I used the simplest of ingredients – rice noodles, tomato, potato and veggie dumplings. See details at below:

新竹米粉夠細膩，采用台湾纯米制作而成。新竹米粉跟泰国的米粉的煮法一樣 ，不过新竹米粉的口感比较Q和细滑。只需简单的食材就可以烹饪出美味的新竹米粉!

Ingredients　材料:

(Serve 2 as main Entree 供两人分)

  200 g (1/2 pack) Hsinchu rice noodles 半包新竹米粉

1 tomato （chopped） 番茄（切小块）

8 Veggie dumplings 八粒素水饺

3 gloves garlic (chopped) 三瓣蒜头（切碎）

1 onion (chopped) 一粒洋葱（切碎）

1 potatoes (chopped) 一粒马铃薯（切小块）
Handful of fresh parsley 一把香菜
2 Tbsp.  cooking oil 两汤匙食油

Seasoning 调味:

2 Tbsp. miso paste 两汤匙味增

2 Tbsp. chilli source with garlic and ginger 两汤匙蒜蓉姜辣椒酱
1 cup water 一杯水

Method: 

1. Soak the dried rice noodles in warm water for about 20 minutes. Drain the water and set aside.

2. Heat up the oil in pot and add the garlic and onion. Stir-fry the garlic until aromatic before adding the tomato and potato.

3. Add the water, miso paste and garlic chilli sauce and bring to boil.

4. Add the rice noodle into the pot; stir to combine well with the ingredients in the pot.

5. Add the veggie dumplings. Cover the pot and let it cook for about 5 minutes or until the rice noodles and dumplings are cooked through.

6. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve hot. 

做法:

1. 米粉提前浸泡温水20分钟，然后把水倒掉，米粉待用。

2. 起油鍋，下蒜头和葱头爆香，再下番茄和马铃薯。

3. 然後倒入適量蒜蓉姜辣椒酱、味增和水，慢火煮滚。

4. 接著把米粉放入鍋裡，充份與醬汁拌炒。

5. 然後把水饺丟入鍋內，并盖上锅盖，慢火煮5分钟或直到米粉和饺子都煮熟。

6. 最后再把香菜拌進去，一盤美味的新竹辣椒米粉就完成啦！

Healthy Salad Wraps to Jumpstart Your New Year!

Happy new year to everyone! If your resolution for 2013 is to eat healthy, lose weight and get fit, check out these delicious veggie wraps to jumpstart your healthy eating! ^ ^

1. Avocado Kale Salad Wraps

Ingredients: 

Kale

Avocado

Cherry tomatoes

Almonds

Red onions

Wholemeal wraps

  Basil garlic dressing 

2. Garden Veggie Salads Wraps

                   

Ingredients: 

Baby lettuce

Cucumber

Walnuts

Red onions

Cumin seeds

  Cherry tomatoes

Cheddar cheese 

Wholemeal wraps 

  Lemon myrtle dressing

3. Spinach Lettuce Salad Wraps

 

Ingredients: 

Spinach

Baby lettuce

Red onions

Cumin seeds

  Cherry tomatoes

Cheddar cheese 

Wholemeal wraps 

  Basil garlic dressing

Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes are smaller tomatoes that are generally sweeter than larger tomatoes. They come in different shapes and colors, including yellow, orange, red, green strips and black. Cherry tomatoes are packed full of vitamins including Vitamin A, C, E as well as potassium and other mineral salts.

Usage: Fruit snacks, use in salad, as appetizer or as a garnish.

Selection: When selecting tomatoes in the market, select cherry tomatoes that are big, firm, smooth-skinned and bright colour.

Storage: Refrigerating cherry tomatoes can spoil their flavour, usually people just store them at room temperature and use within a few days.

Health Benefits: A research published in the May 2005 medical journal " Biochimica et Biophysica Acta" indicate that eating tomatoes regularly could reduce the risk of men getting prostate cancer. Tomatoes cantain high level of lycopene （茄红素）, a red carotenoid pigment which can promote prostate health.

For great cherry tomato recipes, you can check out the links below:  

1) Healthy and gluten free bean curd skin with tomato pasta sauce | 健康又美味的无麸质干豆腐皮配意大利番茄酱

2) Dragon fruit and tomato smoothie | 龙珠果番茄沙冰 

References:
1.Livestrong.com: Cherry tomatoes nutrition information
2 Netdoctor.com: The health benefits of tomatoes

Healthy and gluten free bean curd skin with tomato pasta sauce | 健康又美味的无麸质干豆腐皮配意大利番茄酱

Bean curd skin is also known as tofu skin, is a byproduct of soy milk. It is similar to Yuba ( 腐竹皮) but slightly thicker and  rough texture. One thing I like about bean curd skin is its sweet flavor, it tastes soft of eggy to me. To use, just separate the sheets and cut them into thin strips like Chinese noodles.  
 
The main criticism of bean curd skin is that it will not absorb much liquid sauce when cooked. So, to get the pasta sauce to stick to the bean curd skin, you can make the sauce thicker (simmer it for a while if it is thin) and toss the bean curd skin strips in the sauce.   

Below is a comparison of Nutrition Facts labels of Spaghetti (top), Bean curd skin (bottom left) and Rotini (bottom right). You can see that 100g of bean curd skin provides 270kcal, about 25% fewer calories than spaghetti (363 Kcal, 1 KJ = 0.2388 Kcal) and Rotini (359 Kcal). Bean curd skin is also a great source of protein. It provides 25.8g of protein, at least double the amount of protein in Spaghetti (12g) and Rotini (13.5g). 
  

Ingredients: 

1 package of bean curd skin (cut into strips) 

1 bottle Prego Italian sauce traditional (14 oz)

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

2 slides ginger (chopped)

1 onion (chopped)

1/2 red bell pepper (chopped)
1/2 cup water

Few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of salt.

Preparation:  

1. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high heat. 
2. Cook garlic and ginger in oil for 1 minute. 
3. Stir in onion and bell pepper, and cook until soft. 
4. Mix in Prego Italian sauce and water, and then cook for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  
5. Add bean curd skin and cook for another 2 minutes. 
6. Season with salt and black pepper.  
7. Garnish with fresh cilantro and cherry tomatoes. 
8. Serve warm and enjoy!

For those who are serious about gluten free diet, this Prego Italian sauce is gluten free. It is made by Campbell's soup company, they publish a list of gluten-free products on their website at this link. 

意大利面你吃得多，有没有试过用干豆腐皮搭配意大利番茄酱？除了自己本身很爱吃番茄意大利面，其实我做这道菜肴其中一个想法就是想帮助一些有麸质不耐症 (Gluten intolerance) 的朋友，因为很多粥米面饭他们都不能吃，所以能够帮助他们设计一些饮食、自己也蛮开心的。

没有麸质不耐症的朋友也可以常吃，因为干豆腐皮的卡路里比一般的意大利面条少25%，而且蛋白质也高出一般。很适合正在做保健或减肥的朋友。

以上的干豆腐皮，在很多菜市、豆腐摊位都能买到。这些干豆腐皮跟一般腐竹有点不一样，它的表面有点丰厚、吃起來Q弹，而且容易撕成片状、然后以个人喜欢去切成不同厚度的面条。

材料不用很多，以简单为主：
1. 一包干豆腐皮
2. 一小瓶 Prego 意大利番茄酱
3. 一些蒜头、姜和洋葱切碎
4. 半个红灯笼辣椒切碎
5. 半杯水
6. 黑胡椒和盐少许做调味

做法：
1. 先放少许食油、蒜头、姜爆香。
2. 加入洋葱和红灯笼辣椒炒1分钟变软。
3. 加入意大利番茄酱和半杯水转小火，继续烹调2分钟。
4. 加入切好的干豆腐面条，继续烹调2分钟。
5. 加入少许黑胡椒和盐做调味，拌匀。
6. 起锅后放入香菜和小番茄即可。  

References:
 1. How to tell if you are gluten intolerant by Dr. Mark Hymen: Click here
2. Comparison of food calories by Two Foods - Instant Food comparison: Click here

Chinese dumplings with tomatoes pasta sauce，avocado dip & homemade hummus dip

Three quick and easy healthy recipes:

1) Chinese dumplings with tomatoes pasta sauce

Ingredients: 8 Chinese dumplings (defrosted), 1 small Prego tomatoes, basil & garlic sauce, 2 cloves garlic (chopped), 1 onion (chopped), 1/2 bell pepper (chopped), few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of salt. 

Preparation: Heat some vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high heat. cook garlic in oil for 1 minute. Stir in onion and bell pepper, and cook until soft. Mix in Prego tomatoes, basil & garlic sauce and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add dumplings and cook for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve warm.

2) Easy avocado dip  (Guacamole) 

Ingredient : 2 ripe avocados, 1  tomatoes (chopped), fresh cilantro (chopped), half lemon juice, few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of salt.   

Preparation: Peel and mash avocados in a serving bowl, stir in chopped tomatoes, fresh cilantro, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Chill for half and hour to blend flavors. Serve with tortilla chips, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and fruits.   

3) Homemade hummus dip

Ingredient : 2  cloves garlic (chopped), 1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste), half lemon juice, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt. 

Preparation: Put the above ingredients in a food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover and chill for 1 hour. Serve with fresh tortilla chips and cherry tomatoes and fresh cut fruits.